Pipe Bending

[DanS HJ-45]

Not truck related, but I'm sure someone here has some experience with this.

Got a bunch of pipe to bend, all of it schedule 80 steel pipe, from 1/2" to 2". The vast majority will be 1 1/2" or smaller though. I've done it in the past by heating the pipe and using a hydraulic conduit bender, but that's a little inefficient. I'm sure we aren't talking about buying a bender, but more likely renting or taking a template down to a fab shop in Denver if they can bend.

There's just a touch of the pipe that will need real large radius bends (roughly 4' radius), but most of it will be 45s and 90s and radius won't really matter much for those.

Just getting ready to do a bunch of piping work on an old steam locomotive.

So, what would you all do?

Dan

 

[EWheeler]

Not truck related, but I'm sure someone here has some experience with this.

Got a bunch of pipe to bend, all of it schedule 80 steel pipe, from 1/2" to 2". The vast majority will be 1 1/2" or smaller though. I've done it in the past by heating the pipe and using a hydraulic conduit bender, but that's a little inefficient. I'm sure we aren't talking about buying a bender, but more likely renting or taking a template down to a fab shop in Denver if they can bend.

There's just a touch of the pipe that will need real large radius bends (roughly 4' radius), but most of it will be 45s and 90s and radius won't really matter much for those.

Just getting ready to do a bunch of piping work on an old steam locomotive.

So, what would you all do?

Dan

Is this pipe going to be holding high pressure/high temp steam or is it just ornamental? Pipe can be bent, just like tube, but I'd be slightly concerned about pressure capacity of bent pipe if it is going to be a high pressure steam system. If you are married to pipe, and not willing to use seamless tubing, make sure all seams are kept on the neutral axis during bending. Most pipe bender vendors offer both pipe & tube dies (they are different). Heat & kink would be a no-go in my opinion, but if this is only ornamental, could work. The best method for the larger radius stuff is a tube/pipe roller.

 

[DanS HJ-45]

Is this pipe going to be holding high pressure/high temp steam or is it just ornamental? Pipe can be bent, just like tube, but I'd be slightly concerned about pressure capacity of bent pipe if it is going to be a high pressure steam system. If you are married to pipe, and not willing to use seamless tubing, make sure all seams are kept on the neutral axis during bending. Most pipe bender vendors offer both pipe & tube dies (they are different). Heat & kink would be a no-go in my opinion, but if this is only ornamental, could work. The best method for the larger radius stuff is a tube/pipe roller.

Not ornamental.

Not super high pressure steam either. Just 165psi saturated steam.

All of the fittings and valves are class 300, for reference.

Dan

 

[WarDamnEagle]

165 psi steam is not to be toyed with. You absolutely need a qualified shop to make these bends. It’s been a few years but IIRC, you can do 3D (3 times diameter radius) cold bends on 4” and below or 1.5D induction bends. Those are minimum radius figures. Anything larger than 3D is fine to cold bend in those pipe sizes. Those figures are off the top of my head and not to be taken as fact.

Of course the other option on short radius bends is to use welded fittings.

 

[DanS HJ-45]

165 psi steam is not to be toyed with. You absolutely need a qualified shop to make these bends. It’s been a few years but IIRC, you can do 3D (3 times diameter radius) cold bends on 4” and below or 1.5D induction bends. Those are minimum radius figures. Anything larger than 3D is fine to cold bend in those pipe sizes. Those figures are off the top of my head and not to be taken as fact.

Of course the other option on short radius bends is to use welded fittings.

Absolutely not to be toyed with.

We contract with a certified boiler shop (replaced a course of the barrel earlier this year) and their engineer has told us we can bend them ourselves, including heating to bend and stuff.

I’m more interested in what type of tooling we should be looking for to do bends like this. The other project I’m involved with (also FRA compliant) we have done all the bends by heating and using a hydraulic conduit bender. I’m quite sure no radius will be smaller than 3-4D, it’s more about making bends that are smoother and not such a rats nest as the piping we are replacing….which was all socket welded fittings.

Dan

 

[WarDamnEagle]

My advice would be to partner with an actual pipe bending shop but those are normally found around chemical or petroleum related industries. Might not be possible near you.

 

[DanS HJ-45]

My advice would be to partner with an actual pipe bending shop but those are normally found around chemical or petroleum related industries. Might not be possible near you.

Yeah it’s a lot of fitting on site that we probably need to do. Are there mobile pipe bending shops?

We are a long way from anything. 25 minutes to the nearest Ace Hardware, and we’re lucky to have that!

Dan

 

[PAToyota]

@brian has experience with such things...

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Are there mobile pipe bending shops?

Not that I am aware of but it’s also nothing I have ever looked into. If you have isometrics you could easily get the spools fabricated and shipped.

I did a little research and apparently you shouldn’t cold bend Sch 80 pipe. Heating and bending is fine though. If you could find a shop with an induction bender that would be ideal.